


Not Your Master

by AzureMist



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Character Study, Discussion of Dynamics, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, Kissing, M/M, Miracle Mask Spoilers, Post-Game(s), RanHen, Relationship Discussions, Relationship Study, in the context of 'do you still see me as above you', mlm, so if that makes you uncomfy please be wary!, yo this particular fic talks about henry's past as working as randall's servant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 20:07:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20364364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzureMist/pseuds/AzureMist
Summary: Randall stood up, and turned his chair around, so he could sit in it properly, facing Henry with an uncharacteristically serious expression. “Henry. You do know we are equals, right?” He crossed his arms, and let his head loll to one side.Henry seemed a bit flustered, almost offended, as if this was an accusation of some sort. “Of course I do!”“Then why do you still call me Master Randall?”





	Not Your Master

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to write something about Henry and Randall's past relationship as master and servant, and how they work to keep a healthy romantic relationship in spite of that. Particularly, Henry still calling Randall 'Master Randall' at the end of Miracle Mask, despite him clearly being independent at that point in time, inspired me to write this.

It occurred to Randall, when the first rays of morning settled into his room, that perhaps he should have turned off his lamp to conserve energy. Not that a few more minutes of being on would really compare to the all-nighter that Randall had just pulled; carefully, meticulously going over a fossil he found with various sharp tools, meant for precision, to remove dirt from each and every crevasse. Even so, he felt just a small bit of shock when the sunlight hit his face; when he got fixated like that, it felt like time slowed down. Or, rather, it felt like time didn’t really exist for Randall; nothing existed for him but the task at hand. Upon realizing how late he had stayed up, he sat up straight at his work desk, stretching with a grunt, before trying to wipe the sleepiness out of his eyes. God, he hadn’t realized how tired he was until this moment.

He yawned, bringing a hand to his mouth, just before he heard his bedroom door open, followed by a yawn of sympathy from behind him. Randall turned his head, and grinned when he saw Henry at the door, balancing a tray with two mugs in one hand and covering his mouth with the other.

Upon realizing Randall had noticed him, Henry grinned a tad bit shyly. “Apologies. You know what they say about yawns being contagious…”

Randall laughed, and sat back in his chair on his knees, resting his head on the back of the chair. (That made Henry grimace. He hated it when Randall sat improperly in chairs.) “Henners, I don’t care if you yawn or what. It’s not like it’s weird to do or anything. I was just wondering what’s in those cups of yours?” He pointed to the tray in Henry’s hands.

Henry’s face lit up, like he had just remembered why he came into Randall’s room in the first place. “Ah, that’s right!” He carefully balanced the tray with one hand, once again, as he moved to close the door, before coming to sit on Randall’s bed and setting the tray next to him. “Even though I warned you not to, I thought you very well might have stayed up… So, I brought you some coffee.” He took one of the mugs in both hands, and held it out for Randall to drink; the work desk and chair were close enough to where they could easily face each other and talk.

Randall gratefully accepted the drink, grinning and showing his teeth. “Thanks, Hen! You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know… But, I wanted to.” Henry stood up for just a moment, to lean over and give Randall a small kiss on the forehead as he took his first sip. Randall tried not to giggle into the cup, and lowered it so Henry could see the blush on his freckled cheeks and the soft, thankful smile. He placed it on the desk, to finish later.

“Can I assume you’re almost done with your project, then, Master Randall?” Henry asked casually, after sitting back down on the bed and taking the leftover mug for himself and taking a sip.

“Yes! This one is almost done! I’ve got a few more on the waiting list, though.” Randall’s grin faded just slightly, going quiet after that statement, and looking at Henry. He didn’t seem to notice his boyfriend’s blatant staring, simply taking another sip from his mug as he waited for Randall to elaborate further, as he typically did with subjects he liked.

But, for once, Randall deterred the conversation away from fossils. He moved his head just slightly, so his cheek was more so pressed against the back of the chair then his chin, and said, “You don’t have to call me Master Randall anymore. I mean…” He chuckled. “After everything that went down, I should really be your servant to try to repay you!”

Henry’s eyes snapped opened at that, and his drink stayed in his mouth longer than usual, before he swallowed it after an extremely long pause. He stared at Randall, like he had said something deeply disturbing; eyes wide and mouth agape slightly.

Randall looked away, choosing to stare at the wall and not Henry, though an awkward grin still found its way to his face. Why was Henry suddenly looking at him like he was speaking Greek? “And, even in literal terms… You stopped working for my family when you were an adult, isn’t that right? So… There’s really no point to call me that anymore!”

“I… Suppose that’s… Technically correct, yes.” Randall didn’t see Henry’s expression change, if it changed at all. But his tone of voice was… Surprised. Bewildered.

That shouldn’t have been surprising.

Randall stood up, and turned his chair around, so he could sit in it properly, facing Henry with an uncharacteristically serious expression. “Henry. You do know we are equals, right?” He crossed his arms, and let his head loll to one side.

Henry seemed a bit flustered, almost offended, as if this was an accusation of some sort. “Of course I do!”

“Then why do you still call me Master Randall?”

Henry didn’t appear to have an answer for that. At least, not an answer ready. He stuttered, before glancing up at the ceiling, like he was trying to think of a reason. “I-I…” He looked back down at Randall, ending weakly with, “Old habits,” with a little shrug.

“Old habits,” Randall echoed back, as if considering it. He let his head tilt back for a moment, closing his eyes to think. He stayed silent for a while, sifting over the options of what to say and do in his head.

And, suddenly, his eyes snapped open, as if in a panic, and Randall lurched forward to the edge of his seat, getting closer to Henry. “Henry… You said you fell in love with me before I disappeared, right?” His voice had a slight bit of panic.

“Y… Yes?” Henry answered, nervousness due to Randall’s own anxiety showing in his voice.

“S-so, did you…” Randall felt his posture relax from panic to more of a sort of reserved discomfort, and he stared at his hands in his lap. “Did you fall in love with me… _Because_ I was your master?”

When he looked back up, Randall felt his stomach sink at Henry’s lost and helplessly confused expression. Confusion and shock to that question… Could mean a number of things. Including shock that Randall didn’t know that in the first place.

He sighed at the thought, closing his eyes.

Everything Henry did for him. Keep his robot, waited for him for 18 years, built a city in his name… Forgiving him for attempting to destroy said city. Confessing his love to Randall later that day, and then kissing him so softly and warmly once he knew it was welcome. All of it… Was that all because Henry thought of him as a master, a boss? Because he was paid to spend time with him? Because he saw himself as below Randall? Had Randall been a fool to think it was out of a place of genuine love in the first place?

Randall kept his head tilted back, his eyes closed. He forced his voice to remain steady. “Henry, we can’t continue being romantic partners if you fell in love with me because I was your master.”

He heard the utter panic and fear in Henry’s voice when he spoke next, and he was glad he was looking away. “What? But… You just said it, mere moments ago! You no longer have the position of power over me!”

“Yeah… But if you fell in love with me because I was your master, you fell in love with me because of me having a ‘power position’ over you. So, if we’re together now, with that taken away… You’ll always be trying to put me over you, to keep that original sorta relationship, ya know?”

“But… But I didn’t fall in love with you because you were my master!”

Randall finally looked at Henry. “Yeah, but how do you know that for sure?”

“I-I…” Henry fidgeted with his hands, his face flushed red from stress and his voice quiet. “I… I know that because I dreamt of not being a servant to you.”

Randall felt a slight weight lift off his chest, and he stopped slumping, when he hadn’t even noticed he was slumping in the first place.

Henry seemed encouraged by this silent question, and his voice got slightly less quiet, a little steadier. He continued to fidget with his hands, and he stared down at them, watching his thumb run over his knuckles. “Back when we were teens, I imagined… I imagined living in a different world. An ideal world. I imagined that my parents were still alive, and that I moved to Stansbury, and met you that way…! Your next-door neighbor… And… Even though I wasn’t your servant, we got along just as well as we did in the real world, and I wouldn’t feel like your kindness to me was an obligation, and I wouldn’t have been so formal to you… And I felt just so silly, dreaming of this world, but it made me so happy, thinking of you and I falling in love, and not having the burden of our titles… And… And so, I think…” He swallowed, collecting himself, before taking a deep breath, and looking at Randall with an honest, sincere expression, though his face was still painted a light pink. “So, I think that, no matter what world we would have lived in, I would have fallen in love with you. I think I fell in love with you despite you being my master, not because of it. No matter what way we met… Master and servant, next-door neighbors, schoolmates, even rivals… I would have loved you the same way I love you now.”

Randall let out a soft sigh, staring Henry in the eyes; him with a shocked expression, and Henry with an embarrassing one as he chewed on his bottom lip. He had to shake it off, though. Even if what Henry said was unspeakably sweet and romantic, that still didn’t explain his main concern.

“Well then, why do you still call me your master?”

“I…” Again, Henry seemed to struggle with the answer, stumbling over his words for a few seconds before beginning to properly speak. “I think it’s because you came back so recently. Half a year may seem like a long time in the short-term, but compared to the 18 years I waited for you, it feels like no time at all… And, when you disappeared, I was still a teen. I was still calling you my master, because that’s what you were. And I never truly considered it a priority to get out of that habit when I was preparing for your return. So… I suppose that is why. Time and priority.”

Randall nodded slowly at that, and stood up so he was standing in front of Henry on his bed. He didn’t kneel down to Henry; he didn’t want to seem he was being patronizing. He instead waited for Henry to stand up with him.

Once they were the same height, Randall put both hands on Henry’s shoulders. “I get it… But, hey. I think stopping should be a priority. Now that I’m back. Now that I’m with you.” He squeezed Henry’s shoulders lightly. “We’re equals now. We’re both adults. And don’t call me your Master Randall anymore. I’m not your master. Not anymore. Not ever again.” He smiled, lopsided and silly, his serious demeanor finally fading a bit. “Got it, Henners?”

Henry chuckled lovingly, bringing his own hands to cup Randall’s cheeks. “Yes, I do… Randall.”

Henry was the one to lean in for a kiss, but Randall met him in the middle. Kissing warmly and softly, just like their first kiss they shared together, with no obligatory titles to stand between them.

**Author's Note:**

> I think these two would have to be careful with power dynamics, given their past. But, after everything they've been through just to be with each other, I don't think there's anything they can't get through.
> 
> Anyways, romantic garbage aside: please leave a comment, if you can! Anything is appreciated. Thanks for reading!


End file.
